By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Former athletes across several decades will comprise the 2024 induction class for the Western Alamance Athletic Hall of Fame.
The eight individuals selected for induction are golfer Lori Beth Adams (Class of 2010); multi-sport athletes Donald Britt (2009), Bo Jordan (2006), Kristen Kunkle-Somma (1993) and Dee Pinnix (1994); track and field standout Scott Grell (1987); football player Mitch Rippy (1976); and coach and contributor Emogene Kernodle (1971).
The group will be introduced at halftime of the September 27 football game vs. Eastern Alamance, with an induction banquet the following night at 6:00 p.m. at the convention center (formerly Ramada Inn) next to The Cutting Board in Burlington.
• Adams was a four-time conference Golfer of the Year in high school and received a similar honor in 2013 in the Colonial Athletic Association for UNC Wilmington. She twice qualified for NCAA regionals with the Seahawks. She went on to play professionally on mini-tours. She has worked at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington, and she’s an assistant women’s golf coach at Elon.
• Britt played quarterback for Western’s 2007 state champion football team. That led to a college career for UNC Pembroke. Britt also excelled for Western’s basketball and track and field teams. He lives in Wilmington, where he operates a personal training business (Level Up Health and Fitness).
• Grell was a school record-holder in the 100-meter dash, 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump, winning state championships in the two hurdles events as a senior. He later was part of a record-setting 1,600 relay unit at North Carolina State. He lives in League City, Texas.
• Jordan was a four-year starting quarterback during some of Western’s most successful football seasons (46-15 during that stretch). He went on to a stellar college career for Division III North Carolina Wesleyan, landing on a spot on the USA South Conference’s 50th anniversary football team. Jordan also played baseball for Western, where he’s now a teacher.
• Kunkle-Somma excelled in the 100-yard breaststroke and 100 medley to become Western’s first female swimming state champion before going on to compete for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship team at Clemson. She also was a distance runner, competing in cross country and track and field for the Warriors. She lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.
• Pinnix participated in volleyball, basketball and softball. In basketball, she scored more than 1,500 points and was a two-time Player of the Year in the Mid-State Conference. She played collegiately for High Point and then was a semi-pro player for the Jacksonville Cougars in Florida. She lives in Winston-Salem.
• Rippy was a kicker who achieved considerable success for the Warriors. He went on to kick for then-Elon College, setting several school records. The Burlington resident is a member of the Elon Sports Hall of Fame.
• Kernodle was a math teacher from 1984-2014 at Western, serving for 26 years as cheerleading coach. She’s a long-time contributor to the athletics department, assisting with contributions to support the baseball batting cage, weight room, and stadium scoreboard projects. She’s a regular attendee at many athletics events pulling for the Warriors.
